In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, Lucas London, Co-Founder of Lick Home, reveals how he identified a fundamental gap in the paint industry: while competitors were focused on manufacturing efficiencies, no one was solving the core customer problem of colour selection confidence. Launching precisely on the day COVID lockdowns were announced, Lick has evolved from an online-only DTC model to a sophisticated omnichannel business with a projected £13-15 million in revenue this year. Their manufacturing-on-demand supply chain delivers industry-leading margins while their community-powered content engine has created a flywheel effect that traditional paint brands have been unable to replicate.

Topics Discussed:

• The counterintuitive data showing 90% of customers research paint online but 90% purchase offline
• Designing a manufacturing-on-demand supply chain that delivers high margins and low inventory costs
• The optimal colour palette size (100 colours) determined through extensive customer testing
• How colour trends are shifting from the “grey decade” to bolder expressions of identity
• Quantifying offline channel growth (470% YoY) through strategic retail partnerships
• European expansion strategy into France and Germany
• Their atypical B Corp certification process as an early-stage startup

Lessons For Consumer Marketers:

Rigorous Channel Testing: When Online Acquisition ≠ Online Conversion

The data was unequivocal: while 90% of paint customers start their journey online, 90% ultimately purchase offline. Rather than fighting this behaviour, Lick rebuilt their operational infrastructure to create an omnichannel ecosystem. The metrics validate this decision: offline channels grew 470% in 2023, representing over 50% of revenue, with significantly higher AOV than pure DTC. This requires acknowledging that for certain physical goods, online platforms serve better as acquisition channels than conversion points.

Manufacturing-on-Demand: Margin Engineering Beyond Traditional DTC Playbooks

Most DTC brands focus on cutting out middlemen while maintaining traditional supply chains. Lick instead engineered a manufacturing-on-demand system that transformed their margin structure, inventory management, and capital efficiency. This allowed them to scale rapidly during COVID without inventory constraints and provided the flexibility to respond to shifting customer color preferences without clearance losses. The supply chain innovation drove profitability metrics that made retail partnerships viable despite standard wholesale margins.

Optimisation Through Constraint: The 100-Colour Testing Methodology

Lick systematically tested colour palette sizes, starting with 50 colours and expanding through iterative testing. They discovered 100 colours represent the optimal balance between choice and decision paralysis. This finding contradicts conventional wisdom that more options equal better customer experience, particularly in creative categories. Their sophisticated decision-support infrastructure (colour quiz, Pinterest tool, peel-and-stick samples, consultancy services) creates scaffolding around this curated selection.

Verticalized Expertise: The Multi-Function Value of Category Specialists

Lick’s colour consultants evolved from customer-facing roles into vertically integrated assets that drive multiple business functions: direct customer conversion, influencer relationship management, product development input, and media representation through panels and publications. This specialised role creates category authority that traditional paint brands (originating from manufacturing backgrounds) struggle to replicate authentically.

Crowdfunding as Community Activation, Not Acquisition Strategy

Lick’s current crowdfunding initiative deliberately subverts typical startup approaches. Rather than using crowdfunding primarily for customer acquisition (a common but misaligned strategy), they secured £3M from institutional investors first, then opened equity participation to their community. This sequencing maintains cap table integrity while strengthening community bonds beyond transactional relationships.

Cultural Context: Home as the New Fashion Canvas

The pandemic permanently shifted the role of home spaces from private to public-facing environments. Lick’s customer data reveals a dramatic shift in colour boldness that directly contradicts trends in other consumer categories (like automotive, where colour choices are narrowing). By positioning their products within this cultural context rather than as mere functional improvements, they’ve created a resonant brand narrative around self-expression and identity.

Iconic Collaboration Engineering: The Heinz Red Case Study

Lick’s strategic partnership with Heinz transformed a recognisable but underutilised brand asset (the specific tomato red) into an interior design element. This collaboration delivered outsized PR and social impressions while demonstrating Lick’s colour authority. The execution specifically avoided the “gimmicky” trap that plagues many brand collaborations by ensuring the colour worked beautifully in authentic interior contexts.